Electric haircutting appliances are generally known and include trimmers, clippers and shavers whether powered by main supplied electricity or batteries. Such devices are generally used to trim body hair, in particular facial and head hair to allow a person to have a well-groomed appearance.
Commonly, conventional devices for cutting hair comprises a main body forming an elongated housing having a front or cutting end (also referred to as distal end) and an opposite handle end. A cutting assembly is disposed at the distal end. The cutting assembly usually comprises a stationary cutting blade and a movable cutting blade which moves in a reciprocal manner against the stationary cutting blade. The cutting assembly is usually fixed in a single position relative to the housing of the hair clipper, such that the orientation of the cutting assembly is determined by a user orientating the housing or main body of the hair clipping device. The tips of the cutting teeth of the cutting assembly (of the stationary cutting blade and the movable cutting blade) usually jut out of the front side of the hair clipper housing, such that the tips of the teeth are always visible to the user. This makes it easier for the user to see where exactly the hairs are cut, which is specifically advantageous when using the hair clipper to form and create fine hair contours.
Since there is a great user demand for hair clipping devices that offer the possibility to be used for different haircut lengths, many known hair clipping devices make use of separate, differently sized comb attachments. These comb attachments are generally mounted to the distal end of a conventional hair clipping device to position the cutting assembly relative to the skin. In other words, such a comb attachment is used as a guide that moves over the skin and guides hair towards the cutting assembly. Typically, these comb attachments are mounted over the cutting assembly and spaces the cutting blades apart from the surface of the skin from which the hairs extend. However, always having to replace the comb attachment by a different one when the haircut length shall be changed might be cumbersome for the user, as this is not only time consuming, but the user also has to store a plurality of differently sized comb attachments.
Therefore, a lot of prior art hair clipping devices use only one comb attachment that is adjustable in different positions relative to the hair clipper housing. Users may thus shift the comb attachment between different positions leading to different haircut lengths. Usually these movable comb attachments may be adjusted between haircut lengths of 3 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm, 9 mm, usually up to 10 mm.
One of the major problems that arises when using hair clippers in combination with a comb attachment is the so-called clogging effect. This clogging effect arises for stationary combs as well as for adjustable/movable combs. The clogging effect results from an accumulation of already cut hairs which get trapped and stuck in between the housing and the comb teeth. Once hairs are entangled in between the housing and the comb teeth, they start collecting more and more cut hairs which finally causes a built-up of already cut hairs and is perceived by the consumer as clogging. This of course hampers a precise haircut and might even lead to a blockage that jams and/or damages the cutting assembly.
DE 34 41 060 A1 discloses a hair clipper with a comb attachment that is especially designed for preventing such a clogging effect. The therein shown comb attachment comprises a plurality of barbed hooks that are disposed on the upper surfaces of the comb teeth. These barbed hooks act as a blockade that hinders the already cut hairs from getting back to the tooth tips of the cutting assembly and from getting stuck in between the hair clipper housing and the comb attachment.
DE 40 39 681 A1 discloses a hair clipper with a main cutting assembly and an additional trimming unit.
There is, however, still room for improvement, especially for preventing the clogging effect in an efficient manner.